Methods and apparatus for fluid flow measurement

ABSTRACT

A fluid flow meter estimates the velocity of water or another fluid flowing through pipe by comparing measurements of the water velocity to one or more pre-determined templates. The fluid flow meter may collect measurement signals from one or more flow sensors, estimate the fluid velocity or flow rate by comparing the measurement signals to the template, and either store the comparison results in local memory, transmit the results to a remote memory or server, or both. In some embodiments, the fluid flow meter transmits the results to a server via a wireless interface. The transducers and processing system can be powered by a battery, a power line, or, for manifolds installed outdoors, a solar cell. Example transducers and processing systems may also have a passive wake-up feature for power reduction; that is, they may only draw power when water or another fluid flows through the pipe.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119 of U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/454,344, entitled “Water Manifold withIntegrated Flow Sensor” and filed Mar. 18, 2011, which is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

A rapidly rising global population is putting increasing pressure onnatural resources. Demand for food, water, and energy is expected torise by 30-50% over the next 20 years. Limited availability of waterresources has implications for both the new development of real estateas well for the continued use of already-developed property.

New real estate development opportunities may be increasingly limited bywater availability. Existing or anticipated water shortages may causeregulators to restrict or prohibit housing development. For example, theState of California currently requires water agencies to withholdapproval for developments until a determination is made that sufficientwater resources exist to serve a proposed development for a period of 20years.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present technology include a fluid flow meter and amethod of measuring fluid velocity. In one example, the fluid flow meterincludes a sensor, a memory, and a processor. The sensor is configuredto generate a measurement signal by detecting an ultrasonic signalrepresentative of a velocity of a fluid flowing through a lumen. Thesensor is also configured to provide a measurement signal representativeof the velocity. The memory configured to store a template associatedwith a possible velocity of the fluid. The processor, which iscommunicatively coupled to the sensor and to the memory, is configuredto compare the measurement signal to the template and to determine anestimated velocity of the fluid based on the comparison. The fluid flowmeter may also include a fixation device, such as a lock, clamshellhinge, adhesive, or other suitable device, to secure the sensor to avessel that defines the lumen. It may also include a communicationsinterface, communicatively coupled to the processor, to transmit a data,such as representations of the estimated velocity or the measurementsignal, to a server.

In one instance, the sensor includes a first transducer to transmit theultrasonic signal through the fluid flowing through the lumen and asecond transducer to receive a reflected, scattered, or transmitted copyof the ultrasonic signal. The sensor also includes a front end, whichcan be coupled to the first transducer, second transducer, or both, thatis configured to produce the measurement signal from the reflected,scattered, or transmitted copy of the ultrasonic signal. The ultrasonicsignal can be a first ultrasonic signal, in which case the secondtransducer may be further configured to transmit a second ultrasonicsignal through the fluid flowing through the lumen, and the firsttransducer may be configured to receive a reflected, scattered, ortransmitted copy of the second ultrasonic signal. In such a case, thefront end is further configured to produce the measurement signal basedon a difference of the reflected, scattered, or transmitted copy of thefirst ultrasonic signal and the reflected, scattered, or transmittedcopy of the second ultrasonic signal.

The memory in an exemplary fluid flow meter may be configured to store aplurality of templates, where each template in the plurality oftemplates corresponding to a different possible velocity of the fluidflowing through the lumen. In such a case, the processor can be furtherconfigured to compare the measurement signal to each template in theplurality of templates. In some examples, the template is produced at afirst sampling frequency and stored in the memory at a second samplingfrequency lower than the first sampling frequency. The processor mayalso be configured to interpolate the measurement signal, the template,or both before or while performing the comparison. In addition, theprocessor can add a first random waveform to the measurement signal anda second random waveform to the template before performing thecomparison.

In certain examples, the fluid flow meter also includes a manifold thatdefines the lumen through which the fluid flows. Such a manifold mayinclude an inlet to channel the fluid into the lumen and one or moreoutlets to channel the fluid out of the lumen. The sensor may beconfigured to measure the velocity of the fluid flowing into or out ofthe lumen.

Another embodiment of the present disclosure includes a method ofinstalling a fluid flow meter, e.g., examples of the fluid flow meterdescribed above. Such an installation method may include securing thefluid flow meter to an exterior of a structure that defines the lumen.It may also include calibrating the sensor by setting the velocity orflow rate of the fluid to a known value (e.g., no flow, 1 gallon perminute, etc.), generating an estimated velocity with fluid flow meter,and calibrating the fluid flow meter based on the known value and theestimated velocity. Calibration may also include generating an estimateddiameter of the lumen based on the known value and the estimatedvelocity and possibly verifying the diameter of the lumen based theestimated diameter and a description of the lumen or the structure.

Embodiments of the inventive subject matter include water manifolds withintegrated flow sensors that address problems associated withinsufficient water resources. Example water manifolds include an inletport to channel water into a lumen and several (e.g., 2-100) outletports that channel water out of the lumen. At least one of the outletports includes an integrated flow sensor that measures the flow rate ofwater flowing from the lumen. In some cases, the flow sensor includes atransmit transducer and a second transducer to transmit and detect,respectively, an ultrasonic signal that propagates through the waterflowing from the lumen. Alternative flow rate sensors may includemagnetic field sources or impellers disposed with output lumens definedby the outlet ports.

Example water manifolds may also include a wireless interface totransmit data collected by the flow sensors, a processor to monitor datacollected by the flow sensors, and a memory to store data collected bythe flow sensors. The processor can be configured to interface with aserver via the wireless interface, and the server may provide adashboard (via a smart phone or other networked device) that indicateswater usage statistics based on flow rate data collected by the flowsensors. Flow rate data and water usage statistics can be used to reducewater consumption through analysis of usage patterns, elimination ofwaste, and incentives for lowered water use.

The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be inany way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments,and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and featureswill become apparent by reference to the following drawings and thedetailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the disclosedtechnology and together with the description serve to explain principlesof the disclosed technology.

FIGS. 1A and 1B show an ultrasonic fluid flow meter before (FIG. 1A) andafter (FIG. 1B) installation around a pipe.

FIG. 1C shows the positions of the ultrasonic transducers in theultrasonic fluid flow meter of FIGS. 1A and 1B when the meter isinstalled around a pipe.

FIG. 1D shows an ultrasonic flow meter installed around a pipe.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram that illustrates electronic components in theultrasonic fluid flow meter of FIGS. 1A and 1B.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram that illustrates operation of the fluid flowmeter of FIGS. 1A and 1B.

FIG. 4A is a plot of a transmitted ultrasonic pulse (top) and a receivedultrasonic pulse (bottom) of the ultrasonic fluid flow meter of FIGS. 1Aand 1B.

FIG. 4B is a plot that shows the delay between two received ultrasonicpulses associated with different fluid flow velocities.

FIG. 5A is a line plot of apodized templates associated with differentfluid flow velocities (pulse delays) generated at a first (higher)sampling frequency.

FIG. 5B is an image plot of the apodized templates of FIG. 5A.

FIG. 6A is a line plot of an apodized template at a first (higher)sampling frequency (smooth curve) and at a second (lower) samplingfrequency (jagged curve).

FIG. 6B is an image plot of the apodized templates of FIGS. 5A and 5Bdown-sampled to the second (lower) sampling frequency of FIG. 6A.

FIG. 6C is an image plot that illustrates a correlation between areceived ultrasonic pulse and the down-sampled templates of FIG. 6B.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram that illustrates installation of a fluid flowmeter.

FIG. 8A illustrates an architecture of a fluid metering system.

FIG. 8B illustrates the server and the fluid metering system shown inFIG. 8A.

FIGS. 8C-8H show screenshots of a dashboard provided by the fluidmetering system shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B.

FIG. 9 is a diagram of a multi-port water manifold with flow sensorsthat can be integrated into any one of the water manifold's inlet andoutlet ports.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Following below are more detailed descriptions of various conceptsrelated to, and embodiments of, inventive systems, methods and apparatusfor providing fluid flow metering. Features of exemplary fluid flowmeters may include, but are not limited to: real-time usage information;accurate metering at low flow rates; accurate calculation of fluid loss;detection of abnormal fluid usage; detection of continuous lowvelocities; remote meter reading; no moving parts; battery or linepower; and no-flow and reverse flow detection. The various conceptsintroduced above and discussed in greater detail below may beimplemented in any of numerous ways, as the disclosed concepts are notlimited to any particular manner of implementation. Examples of specificimplementations and applications are provided primarily for illustrativepurposes.

An exemplary fluid flow meter can engage tenants, reduce cost, andprovide automated reporting for property owners and managers. It canengage a tenant by informing the tenant of his or her usage inreal-time, and by providing monthly bills. A fluid flow meter may alsoprovide usage information and other data to property owners andmanagers, which enables the property owners and managers to identify andreduce leaks, waste, and unauthorized usage. This allows management toreceive utility payments sooner and reduces management's risk and costsassociated with wasteful consumption and leaks. It also helps to ensurethat tenants pay only for what they use. In addition, a fluid flow metermay enable automated reporting that compares building performance tosimilar buildings in a property manager's portfolio or to a competitor'sportfolio. Automated reporting may also enable evaluation of a tenant orbuilding owner's environmental performance, including carbon and wateruse footprinting.

An exemplary fluid flow meters can be installed on a pipe inmulti-tenant rental or institutional housing to monitor waterconsumption in one or more individual apartments. A server or othercomputing device may collect information from the fluid flow meter abouteach tenant's water usage, making it possible to identify tenants whosewater usage is abnormally high or low. This information may also make itpossible to supply individuals with real-time consumption information aswell as coaching and social pressures (e.g., public rankings) thatpromote water conservation. For example, a server communicativelycoupled to a fluid flow meter may proactively notify residents of theirown usage rates, their neighbors' usage rates, target usage rates, etc.

An exemplary fluid flow meter can also be used to monitor occupied andvacant units. This feature may be used during new construction of thecommunity and once property leasing commences. A fluid flow meter canidentify events such as undetected leaks and pipe bursts due tofreezing, saving owners and residents money by limiting damage andrepair costs. The meter can also sense temperatures in the units and canwarn management and residents of conditions that may cause damage suchas pipe freezing. The fluid flow meter (possibly together with a server)may alert management of these conditions via email, text message, phone,or any other suitable communications method.

Fluid Flow Meters

FIGS. 1A-1D show a non-invasive fluid flow meter 100 that clamps arounda pipe 10, which defines a lumen containing flowing fluid (e.g., water,gas, oil, or sewage). The fluid flow meter 100 includes a cylindricalhousing 104 made of plastic or any other suitable material with a hinge102 that extends along the long axis of the housing 104. The hinge 102allows the housing 104 to open (FIG. 1A) and close (FIGS. 1B-1D) like aclamshell. One or more tabs 106 extending from one edge of the housing104 may engage one or more locking interfaces 108 (e.g., formed ofcatches, hooks, ridges, or slots) on another side or edge of the housing104 to lock the housing 104 in a closed position.

Together, the hinge 102, tab(s) 106, and locking interfaces 108 enabletool-less, clamp-on installation around existing pipes or installed onnewly laid pipes. This simplified clamp-on installation eliminates pipecutting and pipe breaking, reduces labor costs, and reduces the risk ofleaks and contamination associated with pipe cutting and pipe braking.In contrast, installing conventional in-line water meters requiresshutting off the water, cutting the pipe, and inserting the meterin-line. For multi-family buildings, this may mean draining the entirebuilding to install the meters, leading to long, inconvenient downtimes.The bigger the building, the greater the time the building may bewithout water.

In some cases, the locking interface 108 may include multiple catches orslots to hold the housing 104 closed in one of many positions toaccommodate pipes 10 of different outer diameters or shapes. The hinge102 may also be articulated to accommodate pipes 10 of differentdiameters (e.g., diameters of about 0.5 inches to about 1.0 inches) orshapes. The meter 100 can work with any suitable type of pipe, includingcopper pipes, PVC pipe, and even PEX tubing.

The fluid flow meter 100 also includes a transmit (Tx) ultrasonictransducer 110 and a receive (Rx) ultrasonic transducer 110 b(collectively, transducers 110), each of which sits within a respectivetransducer housing 112 a, 112 b (collectively, transducer housings 112).Each transducer 110 may include a piezoelectric device (e.g., athin-film or disk device) as known in the art. In some cases, eachtransducer 110 may be configured to only transmit or receive ultrasonicsignals; in other cases, each transducer 110 may be configured totransmit and receive ultrasonic signals, e.g., in an alternatingfashion.

Once the fluid flow meter 100 is installed properly (e.g., as shown inFIGS. 1B-1D) and 1C), each transducer 110 is oriented at an angle (e.g.,15°, 30°, 45°, or 60°) with respect to the pipe's longitudinal axis. Acompressible or conformal cushion 114 disposed on or along the inside ofthe housing 104 may cushion and secure the transducers 110 with respectto the pipe 10. The cushion 114 may also apply positive pressure to thetransducers 110 and dampen vibrations of the transducers 110. In somecases, the cylindrical housing 104, the transducer housings 112, or bothmay include adjustment mechanisms, such as set screws or levers, toadjust the angle(s) of the transducers 110 with respect to the pipe. Forinstance, a plumber, installation technician, or even a consumer mayadjust the set screws to maximize the signal-to-noise ratio of thesignal detected with the transducers. The meter 100 can be powered by abattery, a power line, or, if installed outdoors, a solar cell. Examplemeters 100 may also have a passive wake-up feature for power reduction;that is, they may only draw power when water flows through the meter.

In operation, the transmit transducer 110 a transmits a signal, such asa modulated high-frequency burst, or pulse 111, into the pipe 10, asshown in FIG. 4A. Together, the transducers 110 may transmit pulses 111upstream, downstream, or upstream and downstream in alternating fashion.The pulse 111 propagates through the fluid in the pipe 10, then reflectsor scatters off bubbles, particles, or debris within the pipe 10 or theinner wall of the pipe 10 itself. The reflected or scattered pulse 113(also shown in FIG. 4A) propagates along a V-shaped (or W-shaped) pathback to the receive transducer 110 b, which detects a version 113 of thepulse that is delayed, attenuated, and possibly distorted compared tothe transmitted pulse 111. Longer paths (e.g., with more reflections)increase the time delay, but may also lead to increased attenuation ordistortion.

The length of the time delay varies with the velocity of the fluidrelative to the pulse. When the fluid is not moving (a “no-flow”condition), the time delay equals the product of the pulse's speed andthe pulse's propagation distance. When the fluid moves, the time delayincreases or decreases by an amount proportional to the fluid's velocitywith respect to the pulse. (The received pulse also shifts in frequencywith respect to the transmitted pulse by an amount proportional to therelative velocity as understood by those of skill in the art.)Transmitting the pulse 111 upstream results in an increasing delayrelative to no-flow for increasing flow rates; transmitting the pulse111 downstream results in an increasing advance relative to no-flow forincreasing flow rates.

The fluid flow meter 100 may also include a processing system, operablycoupled to the transducers 110, that estimates the fluid's velocity anda display 120, that shows the flow rate, meter status, and otherparameters. As understood by those of skill in the art, the processingsystem may include digital components, analog components, or acombination of analog components. It may include purpose-builtcomponents (e.g., an application-specific integrated circuit) orprogrammable/reconfigurable components (e.g., a field-programmable gatearray or a field-programmable analog array).

In some examples, the processing system estimates the fluid's velocityby either measuring the time that reflected pulse crosses apre-determined threshold or by comparing a representation of thereflected pulse to one or more pre-determined templates, each of whichrepresents a different fluid velocity. (Alternatively, the transmittransducer 110 a may emit a continuous-wave (cw) or chirped signal, andthe receive transducer 110 b may detect a delayed version of the cw orchirped signal. In such an example, the processing system can determinethe flow rate by measuring the frequency shift or the difference inphase (phase delay) between the transmitted and received cw or chirpedsignals.) The relationship between flow rate and time-delay-of-arrival(or frequency shift) is linear at the flow rates of interest (e.g.,within a range of about 0 gallons per minute and about 1 gallon perminute, about ¼ gallon per minute, about ½ gallon per minute, about ¾gallon per minute, etc

FIG. 2 illustrates a processing system 200 suitable for use in or withthe fluid flow meter 100 of FIGS. 1A-1C. The processor 202 collectsdata, including flow rate data, from the transducers 110 and eitherstores the data in local memory 220, transmits the data to a remotememory or server, or both. In some embodiments, the processor 202transmits the data to a server (not shown) via a wireless communicationsinterface 216 (e.g., a Zigbec, Bluetooth, or Wi-Fi interface).

The processing system 200 includes a processor 202 (e.g., an AtmelAtmega128 microcontroller) that is coupled to a user interface 212(e.g., a touchpad, one or more buttons, or one or more switches), auniversal serial bus (USB) 214, a wireless communications interface 216(e.g., a Zigbee interface), and a memory 220. The user interface 212 maybe coupled to or include the display 120 shown in FIG. 1D. The processor202 generates ultrasonic transmit pulses 111 and processes digitalrepresentations of the received pulses 113. The processor 202 is coupledto the transducers 110 a and 110 b via a pair of amplifiers 204 a and204 b (collectively, amplifiers 204), respectively, that amplify thetransmit pulses 111. Each transducer 110 a, 110 b is coupled to anotheramplifier 206 via a respective switch 210 a, 210 b (collectively,switches 210); the switches 210 connect to an analog-to-digitalconverter (ADC) 208. The processing system 200 may also include one ormore filters (not shown) coupled to the amplifier's input or the ADC'sinput. Together, the amplifier 206, the ADC 208, and the filters form afront end that amplifies, filters, and digitizes the transducer output(measurement signal) and provides the resulting digital signal to theprocessor 202, which may analyze the digital signal, and display theestimated flow rate or flow velocity on the display 120 (FIG. 1D).

In general, the fluid flow meter 100 may have a variety of normaloperating modes, including but not limited to sense, wake, idle, sleep,and transmit, and an error mode. It may also have a bootloader mode toinstall field-updateable firmware via either USB or wireless link andone or more configuration modes to set configuration properties aftermeter installation. TABLE 1 describes several exemplary operating modes:

TABLE 1 Fluid Flow Meter Operating Modes Operating Mode Operating ModeDescription Sense The wireless meter is transmitting and receivingultrasound signals to determine water flow in a pipe and storing thedata locally Transmit The wireless meter is transmitting data to thewireless hub Wake The wireless meter is fully active and awaitinginstructions Idle The wireless meter is maintaining a wirelesscommunication link, but all peripherals and main MCU core are shutdownSleep The wireless meter is fully shut down and waiting for a timerinterrupt or external interrupt Error The wireless meter is continuallytransmitting an error code and waiting for corrective response from thesystem Bootloader The wireless meter is waiting for wireless or USBinstructions to reprogram program memory space with updated firmwareConfiguration The wireless meter is waiting to be configured followinginstallation

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram 300 that illustrates operation of the flowmeter 100 (and processing system 200). In step 302, an interrupt signal,such as a timer overflow signal, wakes the processing system 200 from alow-power mode, or sleep state. The processing system 200 responds tothe interrupt signal by waking the microcontroller unit (MCU; processor202) in step 304. Once awake, the processor 202 sets a counter to zeroin step 306 and enables the ADC 208 and memory 220 (e.g., flash memory)in step 308.

Once the processing system 200 is fully enabled, the flow meter 100 isready to measure the velocity of the fluid flowing in the pipe 10.Before transmitting any pulses, the processor 202 either queries thetransducer channel, selects a transducer channel (e.g., channel A fortransducer 110 a) by opening and closing the switches 210 asappropriate, or both in step 310. In step 312, the processor 202generates the transmit pulse 111, which is amplified by amplifiers 204,and drives the transducers 110, at least one of which emits theultrasonic pulse 111 into the pipe 10. After a brief delay in step 314,the selected transducer 110 a receives the reflected or scattered pulse113 in step 316. The amplifier 206 amplifies the output signal from theselected transducer 110 a, and the ADC 208 digitizes the output of theamplifier 206 and provides the digitized output to the processor 202.

In step 318, the processor 202 calculates the time delay, ortime-of-flight, associated with the pulse's propagation through thepipe, e.g., using a Goertzel infinite impulse response (IIR) algorithmor any other suitable technique. The processor 202 stores arepresentation of the time-of-flight in a data random access memory(RAM), such as one provided by the memory 220, in step 320. Theprocessor 202 may also transmit information relating to thetime-of-flight, including an estimate of the fluid velocity, to a uservia the user interface 212 or to a server or other device via the USB214 or the wireless communications interface 216.

In step 322, the processor 202 queries the transducer channel setting;depending on the query result, the processor 202 either switches fromone transducer channel to the other in step 324, then repeats steps 312through 322, or queries a counter in step 326. By switching betweentransducer channels, the fluid flow meter 100 can make upstream anddownstream time-of-flight measurements. The counter, which may beinternal or external to the processor 202, determines how manytransmit/receive cycles that the fluid flow meter 100 performs inresponse to the interrupt signal (step 302). In the example shown inFIG. 3, the fluid flow meter 100 is set to perform 100 fluid flowvelocity measurements (100 transmit/receive cycles). Other settings maybe possible as well (e.g., 1, 5, 10, 25, 50, 250, etc.). Those of skillin the art will readily appreciate that it generally takes more time tomake more measurements, but that making more measurements generallyimproves the accuracy of the resulting velocity estimate.

If the processor 202 determines that the measurement count equals orexceeds the count in the counter in step 326, it proceeds to compare theupstream and downstream time-of-flight measurements obtained with thetransducers 110. For instance, the processor 202 may subtract theupstream measurements from the downstream measurements (or vice versa)to cancel the fixed (no-flow) time delay associated with the pipe 10. Instep 330, the processor 202 calculates an average flow velocity (andflow rate) responsive to the comparison of the upstream and downstreamtime-of-flight measurements. The processor 202 stores representations ofthe average flow rate, average flow velocity, and/or time-of-flightmeasurements in memory 220 in step 332. The processor 202 may thenreturn to sleep mode in step 334.

Fluid Flow Signal Processing Using Templates

The processor 202 may use any suitable technique to estimate the flowrate or velocity of the fluid in the lumen defined by the pipe 10. Inone example, the processor 202 estimates the fluid velocity based on thetime it takes an ultrasonic signal, or pulse 111, to propagate from onetransducer 110 a to the other transducer 110 b; changes in the flow ratecause the time delay to change by a corresponding amount. As notedabove, the transducers 110 can transmit pulses 111 upstream, downstream,or alternate between both upstream and downstream transmission. Using anupstream/downstream differential approach reduces inaccuracy due tovariations in the no-flow time delay (the reference time delay) withtemperature, fluid pressure, fluid density, or other conditions.Differences in time-of-arrival relative to zero-flow or between upstreamand downstream measurements correspond to flow rate.

FIG. 4A is a plot of a transmitted pulse 110 and a received pulse 113(amplitude versus time). The transducers 110 may emit pulses at acarrier frequency of about 100 kHz to about 10 MHz (e.g., about 1 MHz).The pulse duration may be about 5 μs to about 20 μs (e.g., about 10 μs).In some cases, the transducers 110 may emit and receive individualpulses 111, 113 or groups of pulses 111, 113 at a pulse repetitionfrequency of about 5 Hz to about 50 Hz (e.g., about 10 Hz to about 20Hz) or at intervals of anywhere from 100 μs to minutes or hours. Asunderstood by those of skill in the art, the duty cycle should be chosento prevent a received pulse from overlapping or interfering with asubsequently transmitted pulse at the receive transducer 110 b.

FIG. 4B is a plot that illustrates how changing fluid velocity affects apulse's time-of-flight. It shows two received pulses separated by adelay of about 0.04 μs (inset), which corresponds to a difference in inflow rate of about 3.64 gallons per minutes. Increasing the differencein flow rate causes the relative delay to increase, and decreasing thedifference in flow rate causes the relative delay to decrease. Changesin the pipe's temperature, diameter, and inner surface may also affectthe time delay (and the flow rate), as may changes in fluid density andtemperature. For instance, under other conditions, a difference in flowrate of 1 gallon per minute may yield a difference in time delay ofabout 4 ns to about 5.

As described above, the processing system 200 amplifies and digitizesthe received pulse 111 to produce a measurement signal representative ofthe pulse's time-of-flight (and, implicitly, the fluid's velocity). Insome embodiments, the processor 202 compares this measurement signal toone or more predetermined templates that represent differenttimes-of-flight. For instance, the processor 202 may cross-correlate themeasurement signal with each of the one or more templates, e.g., byFourier transforming the measurement signal, multiplying it with theFourier transform of each template, and inverse Fourier transforming theresulting product. The resulting cross-correlation may include a peakindicative of a match between the estimated flow velocity (e.g., asrepresented by the time delay) associated with the measurement signaland the estimated flow velocity associated with the template. Theprocessor 202 may estimate the flow velocity by comparing themeasurement signal to only one template (e.g., a template thatrepresents a no-flow condition) and determining the mismatch (e.g.,shift in cross-correlation peak) or by comparing the measurement signalto several templates and picking the best match (e.g., the largestcross-correlation peak). In some cases, the processor 202 mayinterpolate between closely matching templates to improve themeasurement precision.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are a line plot and an image plot, respectively, oftemplates representing different time delays (and hence differentestimated flow velocities). Each template is an apodized pulse that hasbeen shifted with respect to the its neighboring templates by apredetermined amount, e.g., about 0.1 μs. The templates are normalizedsuch that only wave-shape matters; they may also be filtered to matchthe distortion in the received pulse 113 caused by the pipe and fluid.The processing system 202 may store any suitable number of templates,e.g., 1, 10, 100, or 1000 templates. The templates may be evenlydistributed across a predetermined time interval, distributed moredensely around certain time delays (e.g., time delays that representcommon flow velocities), distributed randomly throughout thepredetermined time interval, or distributed in any other suitablefashion. The templates may be regenerated or rearranged as desired.

In some cases, the templates may be created at a sampling frequency(e.g., about 1 Gsps) that is higher than the processing system'ssampling frequency (e.g., about 100 Msps). In these cases, the templatesare down-sampled to the processing system's sampling frequency, as shownin FIGS. 6A and 6B, to reduce the amount of space that they take up inthe memory (e.g., memory 220) and to increase processing speed asunderstood by those of skill in the art. Comparing the measurementsignal to the down-sampled templates shown in FIG. 6B yields thecross-correlation peaks shown in FIG. 6C, where the darker regionsindicate better matches. The processor 202 determines the row number(index) corresponding to the best match (high peak), matches the rownumber to the corresponding template (e.g., using a look-up table storedin memory 220), and estimates the fluid velocity based on thecorresponding template.

In some examples, the processor 202 finds the template that best matchesthe measurement signal by taking a single inner product of themeasurement signal, represented as a measurement vector, with thetemplates, represented as a matrix (e.g., as plotted in FIGS. 5B and6B). The resulting inner product is a match vector whose length (numberof elements) equals the number of templates. If the measurement vectorand the templates are normalized, the elements of the match vector takereal values between −1 and +1. The element with the value closest to +1corresponds to the template that best matches the measurement vector; inturn, matching template's velocity best matches the fluid velocity.

In other examples, the processor 202 computes a “sliding” inner productof the measurement vector with the rows of matrix. Put differently, theprocessor 202 computes the cross-correlation of the measurement vectorwith each template in a process similar to matched filtering. To computethe cross correlations, the processor 202 creates multiple, overlappingwindows representing the incoming signal, e.g., by dropping one or morethe oldest samples of a given window, shifting the remaining samples inthe window, and adding new samples at the end of the window. Thisprocess yields a sequence of vectors, where the row corresponding to themaximum over the vectors in the sequence corresponds to thebest-matching template (and corresponding flow rate). Those skilled inthe art will readily appreciate other methods of processing themeasurement signal to estimate the fluid velocity, including, but notlimited to both analog and digital signal processing techniques.

Interpolation and Dithering to Increase Precision

The processor 202 may also interpolate the measurement signal, one ormore of the templates, or both the measurement signal and the templatesto increase the precision of the fluid velocity estimate. For instance,if the measurement signal matches two templates (nearly) equally wellusing the techniques described above, the processor 202 may interpolatebetween the templates to determine a more precise velocity estimate. Theprocessor 202 may also up-sample the measurement signal using, e.g.,using sinc or cubic-spline interpolation to increase the processingsystem's effective sampling frequency. The processor 202 may thencorrelate or otherwise compare the up-sampled measurement to one or moretemplates sampled at the same high frequency.

The processor 202 may also “dither” the amplitudes of the measurementsignals, the templates, or both to improve the precision of the velocityestimate. To dither these signals, the processor 202 adds a randomwaveform from a distribution of a given variance, determined by theseparation between adjacent time bins, to the measurement signal. Forinstance, the processor 202 may draw the random waveform from a whiteGaussian noise process at predetermined variance. It also adds anuncorrelated random waveform drawn from distributions of the samevariance to each of the templates. (If desired, the random waveforms maybe added to the templates before the templates are loaded into the fluidmeter's memory 220.)

To see how dithering improve measurement precision, consider a fluidflow velocity that falls partway between the fluid flow velocitiesassociated with a pair of adjacent templates. By matching themeasurement signal to the templates, the processor 202 effectively“quantizes” the measurement signal's time-of-flight, just as an ADCquantizes the amplitude of an analog signal. This quantization processimposes quantization error, which is the difference between themeasurement signal's actual time-of-flight and its estimatedtime-of-flight (the time-of-flight associated with the matchingtemplate). Adding a small amount of noise to the measurement signalcauses the quantization error to vary. If the noise distribution issymmetrical, then adding noise is just as likely to increase thequantization error as it is to decrease the quantization error. For ameasurement signal whose time-of-flight is partway between thetimes-of-flight of adjacent templates, the noise will, on average, makethe measurement signal more likely to match the closer of the twotemplates, improving the measurement precision.

Fluid Flow Meter Installation

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram that illustrates an installation process 700for the fluid flow meter 100 shown in FIGS. 1A-1C. The process 700starts in step 702, when a plumber or installation technician identifiesor selects the pipe to be monitored with the fluid flow meter 100. Thetechnician removes the meter 100 from its packaging in step 704 andactivates the meter 100 in step 706, e.g., by connecting it to a powersupply. Once the meter 100 is active, the technician determines thestrength of the wireless signal received by the meter's wirelesscommunications interface 216 (step 708), possibly by observing alight-emitting diode (LED) or other indicator on the meter's userinterface 212. If the technician determines in step 710 that the signalis too weak to support reliable wireless communications, he or shechooses an installation area with better reception for the wirelesscommunications interface 216 in step 712, then checks the signalstrength again in step 710. The technician may repeat steps 710 and 712as necessary or desired.

If the signal is strong enough, the plumber or technician installs thefluid flow meter 100 on the pipe 10 in step 714, e.g., by clamping thefluid flow meter 100 around the pipe 10 as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. Thetechnician then connects the fluid flow meter 100 to a computing device,such as a computer, tablet, or smartphone, via the fluid flow meter'sUSB 214 in step 716. In step 718, the technician configures the fluidflow meter 100 using the computing device, possibly by setting acustomer identification; a building, apartment, appliance, or otheridentification; and a network connection (hub) identification forwireless network.

In step 720, the technician connects the fluid flow meter 100 to thewireless network, e.g., by entering appropriate identification andauthentication information via the computing device. The techniciantests the wireless connection between the fluid flow meter 100 using thecomputing device in step 722 and evaluates the test results in step 724.If the test results indicate an unacceptable connection between thefluid flow meter 100 and the network, the technician may uninstall thefluid flow meter 100 and choose another installation area. If the testresults are good, the technician tests the transducers 110 using acalibration program on the computing device. This test may yieldinformation, such as received pulse strength and pulse delay, that isevaluated in step 728 to determine the transducers' alignment relativeto the pipe 10. If desired, the technician can align the transducersrelative to the pipe 10, either by re-installing the fluid flow meter100 (step 714), adjusting a transducer alignment mechanism (e.g., a setscrew), or both. The installation process ends in step 730 in responseto the technician's determination that the fluid flow meter 100 isinstalled properly.

In some examples, the transducer test in step 726 may includemeasurements of the time delay associated with a no-flow state. Theprocessing system 200 may use this residual time delay measurement as areference point when estimating the fluid velocity. It may also use thismeasurement to estimate the pipe size; for a pulse propagating in aV-shaped path, the pipe diameter is approximately D=vτ/(2 tan θ), wherev is the pulse velocity, r is the time delay, and θ is the angle betweenthe pipe's longitudinal axis and the pulse's propagation path. In somecases, the calibration program or the processing system 200 may comparethe estimated pipe diameter against a pipe diameter specified inbuilding plans or a job order. If the estimated pipe diameter does notmatch the expected pipe diameter, the computing device or the fluid flowmeter 100 may issue a warning or query, such as “Please check the pipe.The measured pipe diameter is 1.0 inches, but the expected pipe diameteris 0.75 inches. This may not be the correct installation location.” Adiscrepancy between the estimated and expected pipe diameters could alsoindicate build-up or debris inside the pipe 10. (In some cases, thefluid flow meter 100 may be configured to monitor the pipe 10 forgradual or sudden changes in the pipe's inner diameter and to reportthese changes via its wireless communications interface 216.)

The fluid flow meter 100 may be configured to calibrate itself usingreadings from the main water meter, branch water meters (includingmeters within the same building), and/or data from the water usagedatabase. Self-calibration creates a network that is capable ofidentifying leaks with great accuracy with respect to their locationwithin the network while also being capable of identifying loss due totheft or tampering with the same accuracy.

Fluid Metering System Architectures and Operation

Once installed properly, one or more fluid flow meters 100 in acustomer's building 82 may be connected to a network a server 800 in anoff-site location 80 to form an intelligent fluid flow sensing network801 as shown in FIG. 8A. As described above, each fluid flow meter 100can be connected to a wireless hub 806 via a respective wireless link810 during installation. The wireless hub 806 connects to an internetprotocol (IP) network 804, which in turn connects to the applicationserver 800 via the Internet 84. The application server 800 may connectto a database 802; it may also connect to other devices, such ascustomer computers or smartphones, either directly or via the Internet84 or any other suitable communications network. Those of skill in theart will readily appreciate that the intelligent fluid flow sensingnetwork may have any other suitable network architectures and that thenetwork components, such as the server 800, database 802, and wirelesshub 806 may be located in any suitable location.

The server 800 may communicate periodically or on-demand with each fluidflow meter 100 in the intelligent fluid sensing network. For instance,the server 800 may transmit a status query (e.g., operating status, leakdetection status, etc.) or firmware update to each fluid flow meter 100on a regular or semi-regular basis. The fluid flow meters 100 maytransmit responses or acknowledgements to the server's queries. They mayalso transmit fluid usage data, including, but not limited to estimatedflow velocities, estimated flow rates, the number of flow events (e.g.,how often water flowed through the pipe 10 in a given period), theduration of each flow event (e.g., how long the water flowed through thepipe 10), recent user commands, etc.

Upon receiving the data from the processor, the server 800 stores thedata in a water usage database 802. Engines (possibly embodied ascomputer-readable instructions on a nonvolatile storage medium) computewater usage statistics and present these water usage statistics tohomeowners, renters, building owners, property managers, utilitiesmanagers, and other users via management dashboards. These dashboardscan be displayed via web browsers or special-purpose applications oncomputer monitors, smart phones (e.g., iPhones, Blackberries, andDroids), laptop computers (including iPads and other tablet computers),or any other suitable display. The meters may be combined with smartmanifold sensors (described below) to form a distributed sensor networkthat can be used to meter individual units in an apartment complex,individual businesses in a shopping mall, or individual homes andbusinesses in a utility service area. Data collected from such adistributed sensor network provides information on aggregate waterusage, individual water usage, and statistics and patterns related towater usage in a given building or water usage zone.

FIG. 8B is another view of the intelligent fluid (water) flow sensingnetwork 801 shown in FIG. 8A. As described above, the system 801includes one or more fluid flow meters 100 attached to pipes 10 (notshown). The fluid flow meters 100 communicate with the server 800 via arouter or hub 806, which communicates with the server/cloud 800 via acoordinator or gateway 820. The server/cloud 800 and the database 802feed information, including estimated flow rates and flow velocities, toan analytics engine 822, which is coupled to a display 826. Theanalytics engine 822 computes water usage, water usage trends, peerrankings, and even a “conservation score” that corresponds to a user'swater usage and can be used for water usage rankings. The analyticsengine 822 may also be set to detect leaks, freezes, malfunctions, andfraud based on water usage (e.g., a sudden a dramatic increase in waterusage may indicate a leak). The analytics engine 822 may provideinformation relating to water usage via one or more dashboards 830(discussed below) and via alerts 832 presented on the display 826. Thesedashboards 830 may be used to enforce a fair water consumption policybased on household information, including the number of occupants,occupants ages, type of house or apartment, time of year, location,weather, etc. The analytics engine 824 may also compute and assignmetrics to different properties for insurance purposes based on pasthistories of leaks or freezes.

The server/cloud 800 and the database 802 also feed information,including estimated flow rates and flow velocities, to a billing engine824 that is coupled to the display 826. The billing engine 826 producesboth printed bills 828 and electronic bills, which may be displayed viathe dashboards 830 and alerts 832. For example, the billing engine 826may determine how much a user has left in his or her budget and projectthe number days to exceed budget based on present or historicconsumption rates. It may also notify the user, via the dashboard 830 oralerts 832, about the amount remaining in the budget, e.g., usingthresholds set the user. In addition, the billing engine 826 may enableflexible payment schedules: the user can choose a date up to which he orshe want to pay the utilities, with a minimum mandatory payment. It alsoenable users and utilities to create a “utility debt” metric and a“resident lease score,” similar to credit score, which relates to theutility debt track record. Leasing agents, property managers, andproperty owners may check a prospective or current tenant's utility debtor resident lease score when reviewing a lease application.

FIGS. 8C-8G show a smartphone 850 displaying various screens associatedwith a water use dashboard provide by the smart water networksillustrated in FIGS. 8A and 8B. (Those of skill in the art will readilyappreciate that dashboards may be displayed on other devices, includingdesktop computers, laptop computers, table computers, and even the fluidflow meter 100.) The dashboard provide real-time and historic data andanalysis of a water usage measured by one or more water meters 100 orsmart manifolds (discussed below).

These dashboards enable occupants to track their consumption history andrelated statistics. They can also view the “health” of their apartmentin terms of leak or freeze. Once an occupant has launched a dashboardapplication and logged in, he or she can view a water consumptionhistory and a peer or local rating; download water usage analytics,profile, and usage summary; search bills by date, amount, and paymentstatus; search consumption by date and amount; and compare usage for anyday, week, month, or year.

Similarly, the dashboards enable property owners and managers to vieweach consumption details by apartment or unit, community, and commonarea. They also show a unit's “health,” e.g., in terms of itsleak/freeze conditions. Once the owner or manager has launched thedashboard application and logged in, the owner or manager can alsodownload summaries of usage details, notify tenants of leaks orexcessive consumption (e.g., via email or text message), create customreports for individual tenants (or by building or the whole community),and view water usage rankings by region, state, or country.

In addition, a smart water network administrator may remotely manage oneor more of the devices (e.g., meters and manifolds) on the network. Theycan also access dashboards to monitor cumulative consumption details atcommunity and regional levels as well as one or more of the associatedindividual dashboards available to occupants, owners, and propertymanagers.

To access the dashboard, the user launches a dashboard app or program byselecting an appropriate icon 852 displayed on the smartphone 850, asshown in FIG. 8C. The smartphone 850 may display a brief welcome screen(not shown) before displaying menu bars 868 that enable the user toselect one of several displays and home dashboard 854, shown in FIG. 8D,that shows the latest water consumption, monthly water usage status,daily water breakdown, bill amount (e.g., in dollars), and alert status.In the event of a leak, the home dashboard 854 may automatically notifybuilding maintenance or provide the user with a list of reputable areaplumbers to fix the leaks. In addition, the “Home” dashboard 854, likethe other dashboards shown in FIGS. 8C-8G, may be used to refresh thedisplay or to change user information.

The user may select a consumption statistics/history dashboard 856,shown in FIG. 8E, or a consumption rankings/ratings display 858, shownin FIG. 8F, to check or compare his or her usage history. Thesedashboards 856 and 858 enable the user to check consumption history,compare usage, and download usage reports. They also illustratecomparisons and rankings within and among social networks,neighborhoods, cities, counties, states, and nationwide using waterusage statistics derived from flow rate sensor data. It also allows theuser to calculate and compare water footprints, to visualize water usagedata, to compute variance in water usage for a given fixture orbuilding, and to view rewards for low consumption and/or for reducingconsumption. The consumption rankings/ratings display 854 may alsoenable the user to: (1) check his or her consumption rating,conservation score, share ratings, or total savings; and (2) simulateusage and savings.

FIG. 8G shows select a “My Bills” dashboard 860 that shows current andprevious water bills, including charges and water usage amounts. The “MyBills” dashboard 856 also enables the user to pay or download his or herbill. The user can also check the billing history and search bills usinga “My Bills—Billing History” dashboard 862 as shown in FIG. 8H.

In some cases, the server 800, fluid flow meter 100, or smart manifoldmay be preloaded with amounts (dollars) the consumer anticipates will beused each month and notified of amount used for budgeting. For example,the “My Bills” dashboard 856 may display the budgeted amount and thebalance remaining Amounts may be carried over to the next month, just asminutes are carried over in prepaid cell phones. The dashboard 856 alsoenables the user to add or subtract credits (dollars) to his or herbalance. Prepaid amounts can also be deposited with the water company orproperty owner and used for payment of consumer usage.

Inventive flow-sensing meters and dashboards also enable water creditstrading similar to the cap and trade system proposed for carbonemissions. Water pricing is based on a tier usage system. If consumersare aware of their consumption and know what they have yet to consume ina lower tier, they may elect to trade or sell the water they have yet touse in the lower tier to a person or business that is nearing a highertier rate for that month. Immediate awareness of usage and remainingamounts give consumers the ability to trade/sell their remaining lowertier usage rates to higher consumers at the lower tier rates. It alsogives consumers the ability to receive an additional reward from thesale of what they conserve to higher users. Higher users have theability to purchase unused capacity at lower rates compared to thehigher tier rates charged by the utility company. Knowledge of usageshould promote conservation and result in greater rewards for those whoconserve. Public utilities, property owners, and property managers maybenefit as well due to overall lower consumption. A public exchangecould be established in the city or private exchanges could be developedfor multi-tenant buildings, such as apartment buildings and shoppingmalls, where tenants of the same building trade water credits.

Inventive dashboards may also provide advice about how to lower wateruse and alerts relating to the condition of the plumbing. For instance,inventive dashboards may provide instructions to reduce consumption bychanging dishwasher or other appliance settings. An inventive dashboardmay also notify the user that a particular appliance or fixture ismalfunctioning or due for service and provide a corresponding servicealert to the user, owner, or building manager. In addition, it could beused to query and review historical data concerning usage data and toestimate upcoming service and replacement dates for plumbing,appliances, etc.

Inventive dashboards may also recognize and alert users about changes inflow due to leaks, frozen pipes, flooding, malfunctioning appliances,and other maintenance conditions. Manifolds with flow rate sensors canalso be used to detect unauthorized water use, e.g., in vacantapartments. The dashboard may also predict potentially damagingsituations, such as freezing temperatures, by combining water usage datawith data derived from other sources. The processor may also transmitalerts via the wireless interface to the fire department, emergencyservices, property owner, utility company, and/or insurance company whenflow rate data indicates fire, flooding, or another disruption inservice.

Manifolds with Built-in Flow Sensors

Other embodiments of the present technology include a smart watermanifold that can monitor each plumbing device in a building and controlindividual lines if it detects a leak or freeze condition. An exemplarysmart manifold may also be able to distinguish indoor usage from outdoorusage, eliminating the need for exterior irrigation and usage meters.Like the fluid flow meters described above, the smart manifold may becoupled to or form part of a smart fluid metering system that offersimproved customer knowledge of consumption and increased waterefficiency. Using a smart manifold (and smart fluid flow meters),utilities and utility customers may: disable wasteful or leaking devicesremotely; visualize usage data behavioral economics; (instantly) accesscurrent and historical water use information at the device level;compare their usage to usage at similar buildings in their neighborhood,city, and state; compare their indoor and outdoor water use; and set upand receive water use alerts, messages and notifications.

A smart manifold plumbing system controls the distribution of hot andcold water using at least one manifold to channel water to differentrooms and/or fixtures in a house, apartment building, shopping mall, orother structure. (Larger structures, such as apartment buildings, mayinclude multiple manifolds, e.g., one manifold per apartment.) Anexample smart water manifold may be made of polyethylene, polyvinylchloride (PVC), or copper pipe that defines a lumen with at least oneinlet port and two or more outlet ports. In some cases, a single smartmanifold may distribute both hot and cold water through separate hot andcold manifold chambers (lumens); in other cases, the smart manifoldplumbing system may include separate hot and cold smart water manifolds.In either case, cold water enters the corresponding cold-water manifoldor manifold chamber from the water main or service line, and hot waterenters the corresponding hot-water manifold or manifold chamber from thewater heater, which is also supplied by the water main or service line.The service line, water main, or water heater maintains water pressurein the manifold. A smart manifold may be installed near the water heaterduring construction for ease of access.

Each smart manifold (or manifold chamber) includes multiple output ports(outlets) that connect to flexible piping, such as cross-linkedpolyethylene (PEX) piping or any other piping that can bend withoutkinking PEX piping can be connected to the manifold output ports viaquick connect fittings as known in the art of plumbing. The pipingchannels water from the manifold to individual fixtures, such as sinks,dishwashers, showers, bath tubs, toilets, and washing machines. Eachoutlet may also include a gate valve to stop water from flowing to aparticular fixture, e.g., if the line breaks or the fixture is underrepair. Gate valves may be controlled manually or automatically, e.g.,in response to flow rate data collected by flow rate sensors integratedinto the outlet ports. The number and size of the manifold output ports,type of fitting, type of gate valve, and type and size of piping dependson the specific installation, may depend on the particular structure.

Once the smart water manifold and piping are installed, the flow sensorsin the smart water manifold can be activated to monitor water flow tothe fixtures throughout the structure. In example smart water manifolds,each outlet port has a dedicated flow sensor, which may be an ultrasonicflow sensor or an impeller-based flow sensor. Another optional flowsensor may measure water entering the manifold from the service line orwater heater via the manifold's inlet port.

FIG. 9 shows an example water manifold 900 with an inlet port 910 thatcan be coupled to a water main, service line, or water heater. Waterenters the manifold 900 via the inlet port 910 and flows out of themanifold 900 to different rooms/fixtures via corresponding outlet ports920, each of which can be connected to piping (e.g., PEX piping) via anoptional quick connect fitting. At least one of the outlet ports 920includes an integrated flow sensor that measures the flow rate of waterflow out of the outlet port in question. (The inlet port 910 may alsoinclude a flow sensor.) The inlet port 910 and outlet ports 920 mayinclude gate valves to limit or stop the flow of water into or out ofthe manifold 900.

Suitable sensors include an ultrasonic sensor 930 (e.g., as in the fluidflow meter 100 shown in FIGS. 1A-1C), a Lorentz force sensor 940, and animpeller sensor 950. In the illustrated example, the Lorentz forcesensor 940 includes a magnetic field source 942 disposed in-line withthe water flow, i.e., within an outlet lumen defined by the outlet port.Charged particles in the water flowing past the magnetic field source942 create an electric field that varies with the flow rate. Electrodes944 and 946 on opposite sides of the outlet lumen sense the variationsin electric field to provide an indication of the flow rate. Exampleimpeller sensors 950 may include an impeller blade 952 disposed in-linewith the water flow, i.e., within an outlet lumen defined by the outletport. Water flowing past the impeller causes the impeller to spin atrate proportional to the water flow rate. Alternative impeller sensorsmay include positive displacement, nutating disk, multi jet and turbineoptions as known in the art.

Each flow sensor may also be or include an ultrasonic transit-time flowmeter that includes two (thin-film or disk) piezoelectric transducers asshown in FIG. 9: a transmit transducer (TX) 910 a that transmits ahigh-frequency burst, or pulse, into the outlet port and a receivetransducer (RX) 910 b that detects a reflected version of the pulseafter some time delay. (FIG. 4A is a plot of example transmitted andreceived pulses.) Pulses can be transmitted upstream, downstream, orupstream and downstream in alternating fashion. Transmitting upstreamresults in an increasing delay relative to no-flow for increasing flowrates; transmitting downstream results in an increasing advance relativeto no-flow for increasing flow rates. A processor operably coupled tothe flow sensors determines the return-time of the reflected pulse byeither measuring the time that reflected pulse crosses a pre-determinedthreshold or by computing a correlation of the reflected pulse with apre-determined limit and finding the temporal location of the maximum ofthe resulting correlation waveform. The relationship between flow rateand time-delay-of-arrival is linear at the flow rates of interest (e.g.,within a range of about 0 gallons per minute and about 1 gallon perminute, about ¼ gallon per minute, about ½ gallon per minute, about ¼gallon per minute, etc.).

Alternatively, the transmit transducer may emit a continuous-wave (cw)signal, and the receive transducer may detect a delayed version of thecw signal. The processor determines the flow rate by measuring thedifference in phase, or phase delay, between the transmitted andreceived cw signals.

CONCLUSION

It should be understood that the systems described above may providemultiple ones of any or each of those components and these componentsmay be provided on either a standalone machine or, in some embodiments,on multiple machines in a distributed system. In addition, the systems,methods, and engines described above may be provided as one or morecomputer-readable programs or executable instructions embodied on or inone or more articles of manufacture. The article of manufacture may be afloppy disk, a hard disk, a CD-ROM, a flash memory card, a PROM, a RAM,a ROM, or a magnetic tape. In general, the computer-readable programsmay be implemented in any programming language, such as LISP, PERL, C,C++, C#, PROLOG, or in any byte code language such as JAVA. The softwareprograms or executable instructions may be stored on or in one or morearticles of manufacture as object code.

A flow diagram is used herein. The use of flow diagrams is not meant tobe limiting with respect to the order of operations performed. Theherein described subject matter sometimes illustrates differentcomponents contained within, or connected with, different othercomponents. It is to be understood that such depicted architectures aremerely exemplary, and that in fact many other architectures can beimplemented which achieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense,any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality iseffectively “associated” such that the desired functionality isachieved. Hence, any two components herein combined to achieve aparticular functionality can be seen as “associated with” each othersuch that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective ofarchitectures or intermedial components. Likewise, any two components soassociated can also be viewed as being “operably connected”, or“operably coupled”, to each other to achieve the desired functionality,and any two components capable of being so associated can also be viewedas being “operably couplable”, to each other to achieve the desiredfunctionality. Specific examples of operably couplable include but arenot limited to physically mateable and/or physically interactingcomponents and/or wirelessly interactable and/or wirelessly interactingcomponents and/or logically interacting and/or logically interactablecomponents.

With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singularterms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from theplural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as isappropriate to the context and/or application. The varioussingular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sakeof clarity.

It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, termsused herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of theappended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term“including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” theterm “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term“includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,”etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if aspecific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such anintent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence ofsuch recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid tounderstanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of theintroductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claimrecitations.

However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply thatthe introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or“an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claimrecitation to inventions containing only one such recitation, even whenthe same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “atleast one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or“an” should typically be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one ormore”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used tointroduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number ofan introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled inthe art will recognize that such recitation should typically beinterpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the barerecitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, typicallymeans at least two recitations, or two or more recitations).

Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “atleast one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in general such a constructionis intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understandthe convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, and C”would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone,C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A,B, and C together, etc.). In those instances where a conventionanalogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, in general sucha construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the artwould understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one ofA, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that have Aalone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and Ctogether, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.).

It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually anydisjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms,whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood tocontemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either ofthe terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” will beunderstood to include the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”

The foregoing description of illustrative embodiments has been presentedfor purposes of illustration and of description. It is not intended tobe exhaustive or limiting with respect to the precise form disclosed,and modifications and variations are possible in light of the aboveteachings or may be acquired from practice of the disclosed embodiments.It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claimsappended hereto and their equivalents.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described withreference to specific embodiments, it should be understood by thoseskilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention asdefined by the following claims. For example, the manifolds disclosedherein may be used to monitor flow rates of fluids other than water,such as oil, gasoline, etc.

1-22. (canceled)
 23. A fluid flow meter to measure a velocity of a fluidflowing through a lumen, the fluid flow meter comprising: a sensor,secured to a structure defining the lumen, to provide a measurementsignal indicative of the velocity, the sensor comprising: (i) a firsttransducer to transmit an ultrasonic signal through the fluid flowingthrough the lumen; (ii) a second transducer to receive a reflected,scattered, or transmitted copy of the ultrasonic signal; and (iii) afront end to produce the measurement signal from the reflected,scattered, or transmitted copy of the ultrasonic signal; a memory tostore a template associated with a possible velocity of the fluid; aprocessor, communicatively coupled to the sensor and to the memory, toperform a comparison of the measurement signal to the template and todetermine an estimated velocity of the fluid based on the comparison;and a communications interface, communicatively coupled to theprocessor, to transmit a representation of at least one of the estimatedvelocity and the measurement signal to a server, the server comprisingan analytics engine to determine fluid usage information based on the atleast one of the estimated velocity and the measurement signal and toprovide the fluid usage information to a user or a third party via awireless device.
 24. The fluid flow meter of claim 23, wherein: theultrasonic signal is a first ultrasonic signal, the second transducer isfurther configured to transmit a second ultrasonic signal through thefluid flowing through the lumen, the first transducer is configured toreceive a reflected, scattered, or transmitted copy of the secondultrasonic signal, and the front end is further configured to producethe measurement signal based on a difference of the reflected,scattered, or transmitted copy of the first ultrasonic signal and thereflected, scattered, or transmitted copy of the second ultrasonicsignal.
 25. The fluid flow meter of claim 23, wherein the memory storesa plurality of templates, each template in the plurality of templatescorresponding to a different possible velocity of the fluid flowingthrough the lumen, and wherein the processor is further configured tocompare the measurement signal to at least one template in the pluralityof templates.
 26. The fluid flow meter of claim 23, wherein the templateis produced at a first sampling frequency, sampled at a second samplingfrequency lower than the first sampling frequency, and stored in thememory.
 27. The fluid flow meter of claim 23, wherein the processor isfurther configured to interpolate at least one of the measurement signaland the template before or while performing the comparison.
 28. Thefluid flow meter of claim 23, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to add a first random waveform to the measurement signal anda second random waveform to the template before performing thecomparison.
 29. The fluid flow meter of claim 23, wherein the processoris further configured to detect a change in the diameter of the lumenand to report the change via the communications interface.
 30. A methodof estimating a velocity of a fluid flowing through a lumen, the methodcomprising: transmitting an ultrasonic signal through the fluid flowingthrough the lumen; receiving a reflected, scattered, or transmitted copyof the ultrasonic signal; and producing a measurement signal, indicativeof the velocity of the fluid flowing through the lumen, from thereflected, scattered, or transmitted copy of the ultrasonic signal;performing a comparison of the measurement signal to a templateassociated with a possible velocity of the fluid; determining anestimated velocity of the fluid based on the comparison; transmitting,to a server, a representation of at least one of the estimated velocityand the measurement signal; determining fluid usage information based onthe at least one of the estimated velocity and the measurement signal;and transmitting the fluid usage information from the server to awireless device.
 31. The method of claim 30, wherein the ultrasonicsignal is a first ultrasonic signal, and further comprising:transmitting the first ultrasonic signal in a first direction throughthe fluid flowing through the lumen; transmitting a second ultrasonicsignal in a second direction through the fluid; receiving a reflected,scattered, or transmitted copy of the second ultrasonic signal; andproducing the measurement signal from a difference between thereflected, scattered, or transmitted copy of the first ultrasonic signaland the reflected, scattered, or transmitted copy of the secondultrasonic signal.
 32. The method of claim 30 further comprising:generating the template at a first sampling frequency; and sampling thetemplate at a second sampling frequency lower than the first samplingfrequency.
 33. The method of claim 30 further comprising, beforeperforming the comparison of the measurement signal to the template:adding a first random waveform to the measurement signal; and adding asecond random waveform to the template.
 34. The method of claim 30,wherein performing the comparison of the measurement signal to thetemplate comprises: comparing the measurement signal to at least one ofa plurality of templates, wherein each template in the plurality oftemplates is associated with a different possible velocity of the fluid.35. The method of claim 30, wherein performing the comparison of themeasurement signal to the template comprises: interpolating at least oneof the measurement signal and the template.
 36. A system for monitoringfluid usage, the system comprising: (a) at least one fluid flow metercomprising: (i) a sensor to detect an ultrasonic signal indicative of avelocity of a fluid flowing through a lumen and to provide a measurementsignal representative of the velocity; (ii) a memory to store a templateassociated with a possible velocity of the fluid; (iii) a processor,communicatively coupled to the sensor and to the memory, to perform acomparison of the measurement signal to the template and to determine anestimated velocity of the fluid based on the comparison; and (iv) acommunications interface, communicatively coupled to the processor, totransmit a representation of at least one of the estimated velocity andthe measurement signal; and (b) a server to receive the representationof the at least one of the estimated velocity and the measurementsignal, the server comprising: an analytics engine to determine fluidusage information based on the at least one of the estimated velocityand the measurement signal
 37. The system of claim 36, wherein theserver further comprises a billing engine to determine billinginformation based on the fluid usage information.
 38. The system ofclaim 36, wherein at least one of the fluid flow meter and the analyticsengine is configured to detect at least one of a change in the diameterof the lumen, a no-flow condition, a fluid leak, a freeze, and amalfunction based on the measurement signal, and wherein the server isconfigured to alert the user via a wireless device of the at least oneof the change in the diameter of the lumen, the no-flow condition, thefluid leak, the freeze, and the malfunction.
 39. The system of claim 36wherein the fluid usage information includes at least one of estimatedfluid flow velocities, estimated fluid flow rates, number of fluid flowevents, and durations of flow fluid events.
 40. The system of claim 36,wherein the server is further configured to provide a dashboarddisplaying at least one of the fluid usage information and the billinginformation via a wireless device.
 41. The system of claim 40, whereinthe dashboard enables a fluid user and a fluid provider to accessreal-time data, historic data, and analysis of fluid usage.
 42. Thesystem of claim 40, wherein the dashboard enables a fluid user and afluid provider to access comparisons of fluid usage with fluid usage byother fluid users.